It is weird. Honestly, if you look at the names on the back of the jerseys, the Sweden national soccer team should be terrifying. You’ve got Alexander Isak, who just became the most expensive player in English history with a move to Liverpool. You’ve got Viktor Gyökeres, who has been absolutely tearing it up for Arsenal. These are world-class, "carry-your-team" type players.
Yet, here we are in January 2026, and Swedish fans are essentially watching a slow-motion car crash.
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The team is currently sitting in a bizarre limbo. They finished dead last in their World Cup qualifying group—behind Switzerland, Kosovo, and Slovenia. Just think about that for a second. A team with two of the most lethal strikers in the Premier League managed only one point from four games during a critical stretch in late 2025. It’s been a fiasco.
The Jon Dahl Tomasson Experiment (And Why It Failed)
For a long time, Sweden was the 4-4-2 capital of the world. It was boring, sure, but it was reliable. You knew what you were getting: solid defending, hard work, and maybe a Zlatan moment to win it. When Jon Dahl Tomasson came in as the first foreign coach in the team’s history, the idea was to finally modernize. He wanted to play "daring" football. He wanted to unlock the £235 million worth of attacking talent up front.
It didn't work.
By October 2025, after a humiliating 1-0 loss to Kosovo in Gothenburg, the Swedish FA had seen enough. Tomasson was fired. The "Danish villain," as some local papers called him, left the team in 43rd place in the FIFA rankings—their lowest spot in nearly a decade.
The problem wasn't just the results; it was the identity. Tomasson himself admitted after that Kosovo loss that the team had "totally forgotten how to score goals." When you have Isak and Gyökeres and you aren't scoring, something is fundamentally broken in the system.
The Nations League Lifeline
If you're a Sweden fan, you’re probably looking for a drink or a miracle right now. Fortunately, the weird structure of European soccer might provide the latter.
Despite finishing at the bottom of their World Cup qualifying group, the Sweden national soccer team has a back door into the 2026 World Cup. Because they won their Nations League group earlier in the cycle (granted, they were playing in League C against teams like Azerbaijan and Estonia), they’ve secured a spot in the playoffs.
It’s a "reward for being bad," as some critics on Reddit and in the press have pointed out. But the path is brutal. To get to North America this summer, Sweden has to survive Path B of the UEFA playoffs:
- Semi-final: Away vs. Ukraine.
- Potential Final: Against the winner of Poland vs. Albania.
Playing a high-stakes playoff game in March 2026 after a year of losing is a tall order. The team is currently in a "crisis situation," a term Isak himself used when talking to reporters.
Where is the disconnect?
Why can't these stars play together? In the Premier League, Gyökeres is a physical monster. At Arsenal, he’s a focal point. At Liverpool, Isak is a silky-smooth creator and finisher. But for the "Blågult," they often look like they’re playing two different sports.
Part of the issue has been the midfield. Beyond Dejan Kulusevski—who has struggled with injuries lately—there isn't a lot of creative juice. Lucas Bergvall is the big hope at Tottenham, but he’s still young. Victor Lindelöf, now at Aston Villa, provides veteran leadership at the back, but the transition from defense to attack has been sluggish.
Basically, Sweden has a Ferrari engine but a transmission from a 1994 Volvo.
What most people get wrong about the "Rebuild"
People keep saying Sweden is rebuilding. They aren't. You don't "rebuild" when your best players are in their prime. This is a "win-now" roster that is currently "losing-now."
The Swedish FA, led by Simon Åström and former legend Kim Källström, is under massive pressure to find a coach who can actually organize a defense. The Tomasson era proved that you can't just throw talented attackers on the pitch and hope for the best. You need a structure that allows them to receive the ball in dangerous areas, not 50 yards from the goal.
Looking ahead to March 2026
The next few months are everything. If Sweden misses the 2026 World Cup, it will be the second consecutive tournament they’ve watched from the couch. For a nation that reached the quarter-finals in 2018, that’s unacceptable.
Actionable Insights for Following the Team:
- Watch the Manager Appointment: Whoever takes the reigns before the March playoffs needs to prioritize defensive stability. Look for a name that understands the "Swedish way" but can still use the modern 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 systems.
- Monitor Kulusevski’s Fitness: He is the glue. When he’s out, Isak and Gyökeres become isolated. His performance for Tottenham in the coming weeks will be the best indicator of Sweden's playoff hopes.
- Check the Playoff Odds: Betting markets usually overrate Sweden because of their big-name stars. Honestly, until they show they can beat a disciplined team like Kosovo, they are a risky bet even against "weaker" playoff opposition.
The talent is there. The history is there. Now, the Sweden national soccer team just needs to find a way to stop the bleeding before the plane to North America leaves without them.